Preserving the Lower Zambezi River, one of the great wilderness regions in Africa; Zambia & Zimbabwe

Following my trip to the Lower Zambezi I though I would throw a spotlight on the incredibly well managed conservation effort that is run by CLZ, Conservation Lower Zambezi. From anti poaching, patrolling, sniffer dogs, community upliftment and more this is a highly effective organisation and supported directly by the local lodges - so travelling to the lodges here is also making a direct contribution to the well-being of this park. In addition, it is a great park for just about everything!

Conservation Lower Zambezi (CLZ) is a non-profit organisation committed to the protection of wildlife and to the sustainable use of natural resources in the Lower Zambezi in Zambia.

In 1994, concerned local safari operators and other stakeholders recognised the need for organised support to the national wildlife protection authority (now the Department of National Parks and Wildlife, DNPW) to combat the poaching that was decimating the wildlife populations in the Lower Zambezi.

Conservation Lower Zambezi (CLZ), initially deployed teams across the park in an old Landrover from a simple base camp built on the banks of the Zambezi donated by the safari operators.

Since its humble beginnings with basic support to the wildlife authority, CLZ has grown and increased its activities and efforts in the Lower Zambezi. Not only has CLZ’s support to DNPW increased substantially over the years, the organisation now also runs an Environmental Education Programme (2004), a Village Scout Unit (2013) and a Community Development Programme (2013), as well as this CLZ hosts the annual Safari Guides Training courses and exams for the Lower Zambezi (2001).

The Lower Zambezi National Park is 4092km2, but with the adjacent community owned Game Management Areas (GMA) bordering to the west (Chiawa), north (Luano) and east (Rufunsa), is part of a much larger entity, the Lower Zambezi Area Management Unit of almost 20.000km2.